How Jennette McCurdy’s iCarly Role Exacerbated Eating Disorder

When iCarly came to an end in 2012, she moved on to a role in Sam & Cat, in which she starred opposite Ariana Grande. This was an upsetting experience for Jennette, who felt Ariana received preferential treatment. According to Jennette, the pop star was frequently allowed to miss work, requiring Jennette to put in more hours on the set. It was so frustrating, Jennette was relieved when the show was canceled after just one season.

By this point, Jennette was fed up with acting, having been consumed by the “frustration and rage” that had accumulated since she started auditioning, at the insistence of her mother, at the age of six. However, Jennette’s mother wouldn’t let her quit acting, so she coped by drinking, doing drugs and binging. 

Jennette shared she didn’t know who else to turn to, so her struggles happened “in the sad silence of my own doom,” adding that she didn’t know who else to turn to. “My mom was very clear,” she continued. “This is something to be grateful for. This is what we’ve been working for our whole lives.”